Catching Freedom Resurfaces in Mineshaft

In last year's Louisiana Derby (G2), Catching Freedom placed himself among the best of the 3-year-old division with a come-from-behind one-length score. Nearly one year later, he returns to Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Feb. 15 with the same goal in mind. The son of Constitution, who was fourth in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and third in the Preakness Stakes (G1), makes his return to the races off an eight-month layoff in the 1 1/16-mile, $250,000 Mineshaft Stakes (G3). After finishing fourth in the June 22 Ohio Derby (G3) after a slow pace stifled his closing kick, trainer Brad Cox sensed that Catching Freedom needed a break and put him on the shelf to prepare for a strong 4-year-old campaign. Owned by Albaugh Family Stables, the bay colt joined Cox's Payson Park Training Center division in the fall and has worked steadily since returning to the worktab Nov. 23, gradually increasing from three furlongs to five furlongs in his weekly breezes. One of the horses he will likely need to run down in the stretch is the Ohio Derby pacesetter and winner: Juddmonte homebred Batten Down. He returns from a three-month break in racing since fading to fourth after setting the pace in the Discovery Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack Nov. 3, his first start against older horses. Perhaps the most intriguing of the contenders is Steve Asmussen-trained Hall of Fame. He did not perform well in graded company at Fair Grounds in the spring of his 3-year-old season but returned from an eight-month absence to post consecutive impressive scores in allowance company, including a 6 1/2-length triumph at the same course and distance Jan. 5. He races for Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Gandharvi, and Brook Smith. Gigante Defends Home Turf in Fair Grounds Stakes One race later, Asmussen will send out Gigante to defend his home turf in the $175,000 Fair Grounds Stakes (G3T) over 1 1/8 miles. The 5-year-old son of Not This Time has shown an affinity for New Orleans with a record of 3-1-0 from five starts. Two of those wins have come in his last two starts: the Dec. 21 Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes on turf and the off-the-turf Colonel E. R. Bradley Stakes Jan. 18. A millionaire for owners Clark Brewster and L and N Racing, Gigante seeks his first graded victory since the 2023 Secretariat Stakes (G2T) at Colonial Downs. The only other contender in the 10-horse field with a win over the Fair Grounds turf is Ensemble Racing's 4-year-old gelding Higgins Boat, who won an allowance optional claiming race on the surface in November before picking up a stakes placing in the off-the-turf Woodchopper Stakes.